New Releases by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Che cos’è una vita felice? Cercando di rispondere a una delle domande più antiche del mondo, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi ci introduce al concetto di «flow»: una condizione in cui, trovandoci completamente assorbiti in ciò che stiamo facendo, perdiamo il senso del tempo e riusciamo così a dare importanza al presente. Tenendo sotto controllo emozioni negative quali stress, ansia e noia, il «flusso» è la risorsa che abbiamo a disposizione per fare della nostra esistenza un’esistenza felice. Chiave del successo di tante persone creative – musicisti, artisti e scrittori, ma anche atleti e scienziati –, è in realtà uno stato che tutti possiamo sperimentare nelle attività quotidiane: dal giardinaggio alla cucina, dall’apprendimento di una nuova lingua alla cura della casa. In un mondo frenetico in cui è sempre più difficile trovare un equilibrio, Seguire il flow è un antidoto all’assedio della tecnologia multitasking, un libro semplice e rivoluzionario grazie al quale impareremo a mettere a frutto nel modo migliore il nostro tempo, a realizzare le nostre potenzialità e a vivere appieno la nostra vita.

Qu''est-ce que vivre, sinon être heureux ? Mais quand et pourquoi sommes-nous heureux ? " Heureux qui n''a pas encore lu Vivre, il a devant lui des moments de plaisir intense. " David Servan-Schreiber Voici, enfin traduit en français, l''un des grands classiques de la psychologie du XXe siècle. Dès sa parution aux États-Unis, le livre de Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi a été salué comme un ouvrage fondateur : pour la première fois, grâce à la méthode originale mise au point par son auteur, la question du bonheur recevait une réponse factuelle, dépassant les débats philosophiques. Que dit Csikszentmihalyi ? Pour l''essentiel que les moments de joie et de satisfaction dans notre vie ne sont pas associés à de simples " loisirs ", mais à un certain état psychologique, caractérisé par un sentiment de fluidité mentale et d''intense concentration sur des tâches qui mobilisent toutes nos compétences. C''est à l''étude de cette " expérience optimale ", des moyens de l''atteindre et de la généraliser qu''est consacrée la majeure partie de Vivre. Car, comme le dit Csikszentmihalyi lui-même : " Maîtriser son expérience intérieure, c''est devenir capable de choisir la qualité de ce que l''on veut vivre. Si ce n''est pas le bonheur, cela y ressemble. "

Le flow n''a rien de mystérieux ou d''éphémère : c''est un phénomène psychologique auquel s''intéressent beaucoup les scientifiques depuis que Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi a introduit cette notion dans les années 1970. L''expérience et l''entraînement sont nécessaires pour profiter pleinement des bienfaits du flow : la course à pied favorise un état d''esprit immersif qui, travaillé, représente un levier ultime pour optimiser ses performances sportives. RUNNING FLOW EST COMPOSÉ EN DEUX PARTIES - dans la première, l''ouvrage s''intéresse au flow de manière générale (historique, composants, intérêt pour la performance sportive) ; - dans la deuxième, il présente l''application de ces connaissances à la course à pied (facteurs indispensables, accessibilité, compétition, données scientifiques). Le flow est à la portée de tout le monde, athlètes professionnels comme amateurs : l''ouvrage fournit des outils pratiques (tableaux, illustrations, exercices) pour rendre accessible et optimiser la course à pied par l''immersion mentale.

Durante mucho tiempo he admirado el trabajo pionero del Dr. Csikszentmihalyi y he intentado aplicar sus conceptos en el campo de juego de fútbol americano. Algunos han etiquetado mi enfoque como "intenso", pero el término mas acertado podría ser estar "en fluencia". Estar totalmente absorbido en la tarea encomendada es esencial para llegar a ser un campeón en deporte. Fluir en el deporte narra cómo puedes entrar en esta mentalidad positiva y ganadora. Jimmy Johnson Entrenador principal, campeón de la Super Bowl con los Dallas Cowboys (1992, 1993) Campeón de la NCAA con la Universidad de Miami (1987) "Fluir en el deporte" es una lectura fascinante. Al fin alguien ha puesto sobre el papel lo que yo siempre exijo cuando trabajo y compito. Para atletas que están buscando un libro que muestre cómo maximizar su sensación de disfrute y desatar su verdadero potencial, éste es una mina do oro en información" Dan O''Brien Campeón Olímpico de Decatlón (1996) La experiencia de fluir es aún uno de los fenómenos incomprendidos en el deporte. Y sin embargo, es una de las experiencias más ricas y memorables que jamás un atleta conocerá. Algunos lo llaman "experiencia óptima"; otros se refieren como estar "en la zona". Cualquiera que sea la etiqueta , fluir es ese estado de conciencia huidizo y deseado que atletas, entrenadores y psicólogos han intentado comprender, aprovechar y emplear en su beneficio desde que Mihaly Csikszentmihalyo acuñase por primera vez el término a principio de la década de 1970.

More than anything else, this book is an exploration of happiness. What makes us happy? How can we live a fulfilling life? These are no simple questions to ask, but author Csikszentmihalyi makes a compelling and clear argument as to how happiness can be obtained (in passing, he even gives simple explanations for consciousness and the meaning of life!).In doing so, the author touches on a lot of principles from ancient philosophies and religions, such as Stoicism and Buddhism. Yet the approach for a happy life set out in Flow is based upon scientific research, as opposed to rules and guidelines obtained from ancient wisdom. Not that there''s anything wrong with ancient wisdom, but it''s all the more impressive to see modern guidelines to happiness based on scientific research.So what does it come down to? On the one hand, happiness is not a destination where you arrive, but a condition that needs to be cultivated. It''s affected by the information we let into our thoughts and the way we seek happiness. Csikszentmihalyi makes a clear distinction between pleasure seeking and enjoyment, where pleasure is externally focused and hence a temporary fix for happiness, while true enjoyment comes from within and is sustainable.On the other hand, it depends on how we engage in activities, and this is where flow enters the scene: the research shows surprisingly few moments of happiness occur when we''re idle. While engaged in work, in creating something, in pursuit of some kind of goal, stretching our abilities to their limits, those are the moments when most of us experience true happiness. This is when we''re in a state of flow.Paradoxically, this means we often feel happier when working than when engaged in what most people consider leisure time: watching TV, getting drunk, lying on a beach for a week. Flow provides a solution: when the principles are understood, many activities can be turned into rewarding experiences that contribute to our happiness, and who would say no to that?

These volumes bring together a valuable collection of work from four decades of writing by one accomplished and influential scholar, who has academic foundations in psychology and wide ranging experience and collaborations, crossing into a number of other disciplines. Through these volumes the important themes and discoveries in Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s work emerge, including studies of creativity, cultural evolution, play and adolescent development. These are big issues of our time and through this series we are able to trace the origins and development of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s work. Readers will discover what inspired his perspective and led to his fresh insights on some of the mysteries of human existence, as well as discovering the insights themselves. This series will appeal to scholars in psychology, sociology, anthropology, neuroscience and management studies as the work crosses disciplines and is of broad scholarly significance. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is best-known for his theory on FLOW and author of the ground breaking classic work Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.

This first volume of the Collected Works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi represents his work on Art and Creativity. Starting with his seminal 1964 study on creativity up to his 2010 publication in Newsweek, the volume spans over four decades of research and writing and clearly shows Csikszentmihalyi’s own development as an academic, psychologist, researcher and person. Unconventional and unorthodox in his approach, Csikszentmihalyi chose the topic of creativity as a field of study believing it would help him be a better psychologist and advance his understanding of how to live a better life. The chapters in this volume trace the history of the study of creativity back to the days of Guilford and research on IQ and Jacob Getzels’ work on creativity and intelligence. Firmly grounded in that history, yet extending it in new directions, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi started his life-long study on artistic creativity. His first extensive study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago enabled him to observe, test and interview fine art students drawing in a studio. The study formed the very basis of all his work on the subject and has resulted in several articles, represented in this volume, on such creativity-related concepts as problem solving versus problem finding, the personality of the artist, the influence of the social context, creativity as a social construction, developmental issues and flow. The main contribution to the topic of creativity and also the main concept explored in this volume, is the Systems Model of Creativity. Seven chapters in this volume discuss the development of this conceptual model and theory.

The second volume in the collected works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi covers about thirty years of Csikszentmihalyi‘s work on three main and interconnected areas of study: attention, flow and positive psychology. Describing attention as psychic energy and in the footsteps of William James, Csikszentmihalyi explores the allocation of attention, the when and where and the amount of attention humans pay to tasks and the role of attention in creating ‘experiences’, or ordered patterns of information. Taking into account information processing theories and attempts at quantifying people’s investment, the chapters deal with such topics as time budgets and the development and use of the Experience Sampling Method of collecting data on attention in everyday life. Following the chapters on attention and reflecting Csikszentmihalyi’s branching out into sociology and anthropology, there are chapters on the topic of adult play and leisure and connected to that, on flow, a concept formulated and developed by Csikszentmihalyi. Flow has become a popular concept in business and management around the world and research on the concept continues to flourish. Finally, this volume contains articles that stem from Csikszentmihalyi’s connection with Martin Seligman; they deal with concepts and theories, as well as with the development and short history, of the field and the “movement” of positive psychology.

The third volume of the collected works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi covers his work on the application of flow in areas that go beyond the field of leisure where the concept was first applied. Based on his personal experience with schooling and learning, as well as that of many others and contrary to what Cicero claimed, Csikszentmihalyi arrived at the conclusion that instead of taking pride in making the roots of knowledge as bitter as possible, we should try to make them sweeter. Just as flow became a popular and useful concept in voluntary activities, it could likewise be applied in education with the end result of young people being more likely to continue learning not just because they have to but because they want to. This volume brings together a number of articles in which Csikszentmihalyi develops ideas about how to make education and more generally the process of learning to live a good life, more enjoyable. Since theory is the mother of good practice, the first eleven chapters are devoted to theoretical reflections. Some are general and explore what it means to be a human being, what it means to be a person, when we look at life from the perspective of flow. Others are more narrowly focused on such topics as consumption, education, teaching and learning. They help laypeople reflect how they can arrange their lives in such a way as to leave a small ecological footprint while getting the most enjoyment. The second section of the volume contains a dozen empirical articles on similar topics. They deal with the development of identity and self-worth; with the formation of goals and motivation; with loneliness and family life.

¿Cómo pasamos los días? ¿Qué es lo que nos proporciona placer? ¿Cómo nos sentimos cuando comemos, vemos la televisión, tenemos relaciones sexuales, trabajamos, conducimos el choche o charlamos con los amigos? En base a un extenso estudio de miles de personas, Aprender a fluir sostiene que, por lo general, pasamos los días inconscientes de nuestra vida emocional y sin contacto alguno con ella. La consecuencia es que vamos saltando de un extremo al otro: viviendo con ansiedad el trabajo cotidiano e inmersos en el aburrimiento durante el ocio. Ahora bien, cabe salir de esta asfixiante pendulación. Mitad estudio psicológico, mitad libro de autoayuda, Aprender a fluir es una guía preceptiva enormemente útil que nos conduce a recuperar la plenitud de nuestra propia vida. La clave está en ponernos retos, tareas que exijan un alto grado de concentración y compromiso, en lugar de ceder a un hedonismo hueco. Pionero de la llamada "psicología de la vida cotidiana", y autor del best-seller mundial Fluir (Flow), M. Csikszentmihalyi nos empuja hacia una más plena y más feliz, y a experimentar la alegría del compromiso total con lo que se está haciendo a cada momento. Aprender a fluir es un libro que realmente puede cambiar nuestra vida.

Desde que Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi publicó su revolucionario libro Fluir , que inspiró a dirigentes políticos mundiales, tales como Tony Blair y Bill Clinton, un nuevo paradigma se ha ido generando en el mundo de la empresa. Mientras que todavía algunos directivos siguen siendo víctimas de su codicia unilateral, los líderes realmente inteligentes y con visión de futuro construyen objetivos que no sólo les beneficien a ellos, sino también a los demás. En una era en que los negocios y el trabajo ocupan el lugar de la religión y la política, Fluir en los negocios revela cómo los directivos empresariales, los gerentes, e incluso los empleados, pueden hallar su manera de "fluir" y de este modo contribuir, no sólo a su propia felicidad, sino también a una sociedad más justa y creativa. Csikszentmihalyi identifica los factores esenciales para el funcionamiento de un negocio fluido: la confianza, el compromiso, el crecimiento personal de los empleados y la dedicación a la creación de un producto que ayude a la humanidad. Fluir en los negocios es pues un texto indispensable para todo aquel que valore las contribuciones de los individuos en el cambiante mundo de la empresa.

The renowned author of Flow shares a "wise, humane inquiry" into the evolution of consciousness—and how we can rewire our minds for contemporary life ( Publishers Weekly). In Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi''s bestselling Flow, he introduced readers to a radical new theory of happiness. Now in The Evolving Self—his breakthrough sequel—he demonstrates how we can understand and overcome our evolutionary shortcomings in order to build a stable, meaningful future for ourselves and each other. The Evolving Self covers the challenges associated with our cognitive evolutionary history; the distortions of reality we experience due to genes, culture, and our sense of self; and the central importance of "flow" from an evolutionary perspective. Erudite, insightful, and practical, The Evolving Self is a timely resource for anyone looking to improve our world for ourselves and for generations to come. "A book of singular importance and timeliness, one with momentous implications for the future." —Howard Gardner

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi sostiene que los mismos comportamientos, genéticamente programados, que hasta hace poco ayudaron a los seres humanos a adaptarse y multiplicarse, ahora amenazan su supervivencia. Las obsesiones con la comida y el sexo, las diferentes formas de adicción al placer, una excesiva racionalidad y la tendencia a centrarnos en los aspectos negativos de la existencia son algunos de los factores que ponen en riesgo el futuro de la humanidad. Para revertir esta tendencia, el autor plantea que debemos liberar nuestra mente de ilusiones culturales tales como la superioridad etnocéntrica o la identificación con las posesiones individuales, y nos anima a encontrar modos de reducir la opresión, explotación e injusticia que se han ido arraigando en la estructura de la sociedad. Y, fundamentalmente, Csikszentmihalyi nos insta a asumir el control de la evolución humana, para lo cual sólo necesitamos concentrarnos en aquellas actividades que nos resulten estimulantes, que nos hagan sentir en equilibrio con el exterior y superar el conformismo y el caos.

Qu''est-ce qui fait la spécificité d''un individu créatif ? Y a-t-il un âge plus propice à la créativité ? Quelles conditions favorisent son éclosion ? Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi se penche sur le processus créatif qu''il place au centre de cette " expérience optimale " étudiée dans ses précédents livres Vivre et Mieux vivre. En s''appuyant sur des témoignages d''écrivains, artistes de tous horizons, scientifiques, chercheurs, politiques, acteurs ou encore chefs d''entreprise qu''il a suivis pendant cinq ans, le psychologue explore ici toutes les facettes - y compris les plus surprenantes - du processus créatif, et nous donne les outils pour insuffler une étincelle créative jusque dans les champs les plus inattendus de notre vie quotidienne.

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Après le succès de Vivre, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi nous livre, dans ce nouvel opus, les clefs de l''application de sa théorie du bonheur. En s''appuyant sur les recherches scientifiques et psychologiques les plus récentes, mais aussi sur la sagesse antique et les trésors d''enseignements transmis par les religions, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, l''un des fondateurs du mouvement de " psychologie positive ", montre comment chacun de nous peut atteindre la plénitude. Il suffit de s''ouvrir à ce que l''auteur appelle " l''expérience optimale " : en refusant la facilité, en se lançant des défis, en transformant la routine en plaisir, nous pouvons nous réinvestir dans chaque moment et nous forger une existence agréable. Faire ce que nous aimons est, nous rappelle Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, la seule manière d''être heureux et de faire du bien autour de soi.

Since Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi published the groundbreaking Flow more than a decade ago, world leaders such as Tony Blair and former President Clinton, and influential sports figures like Super Bowl champion coach Jimmy Johnson have all been inspired by the book. In today''s corporate upheaval, a new business paradigm is evolving. While many CEOs are being exposed for their greed, truly visionary leaders believe in a goal that benefits themselves as well as others. They realize that it is their vision and "soul" that attract loyal employees willing to go above and beyond the call of corporate duty. And their employees are realizing the same thing: while 80 percent of adults claim they''d work even if they didn''t have to, the majority of them can hardly wait to leave their jobs and get home. Good Business starts with the premise that this is an age in which business and work have replaced religion and politics as central forces in contemporary life. The book reveals how business leaders, managers, and even employees can find their "flow" and contribute not only to their own happiness, but also to a just and evolving society. It identifies the factors crucial to the operation of a good business: trust, the commitment to fostering the personal growth of employees, and the dedication to creating a product that helps mankind. Good Business is sure to become a must-read text for anyone who values the positive contributions of individuals in the changing world of business.

How do young people envision their occupational futures? What do teenagers feel about their schooling and after-school work, and how do these experiences affect their passage to adult work? These are the questions that psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and sociologist Barbara Schneider posed in their five-year study of adolescents. The results provide an unprecedented window on society''s future through which we can glimpse how today''s youth are preparing themselves for the lives they will lead in the decades to come.

En este libro se abordan todas aquellas cosas que hacen que la vida sea digna de vivirse. La emocion creativa del pintor ante su caballete o del cientifico en su laboratorio se acercan mucho a esa satisfaccion ideal que todos esperamos y tan raramente experimentamos. Y ese es el motivo de que el profesor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi haya entrevistado a mas de noventa de las personas mas interesantes del mundo personas que han revolucionado sus areas de trabajo desde dentro, como el actor Ed Asner, los escritores Robertson Davies y Nadine Gordimer, los cientificos Jonas Salk y Linus Pauling o el senador Eugene McCarthy con el proposito de descubrir de que modo ha influido la creatividad en la fuerza que da impulso a sus vidas. A partir de ahi, el autor analiza los motivos por los que las personas creativas son consideradas a menudo egoistas y arrogantes aun sin serlo, deja patente que la idea del genio torturado es en gran medida un mito sin fundamento, y sostiene, finalmente, que la creatividad exige su cultivo, no solo en campos tradicionalmente creativos como las ciencias y las artes, sino tambien en los negocios, el gobierno y la educacion. Se trata de una obra, pues, que no versa tanto sobre la B+creatividadB; cotidiana que todos somos capaces de experimentar como sobre la creatividad especial de los artistas, los cientificos y todas las demas personas que pueden transformar nuestra cultura y el modo en que miramos el mundo. Sin embargo, al estudiar esas vidas excepcionales, el profesor Csikszentmihalyi nos indica el camino a traves del cual podemos mejorar en nuestra vida cotidiana y su objetivo, entonces, se hace claro: una personalidad mas satisfactoria que nos permita, a su vez, unamayor realizacion laboral y social.

A profound exploration by a leading American psychologist of what it means to have a good life, of living well and well being, using the theory that human beings are at their most creative, most rewarded ahd happiest when they are performing in a state of "flow"; when details are subordinated to the purpose. The result is an unusual combination of serious psychology and self-help; a book that answers the questions self-help books ask, but in a way that reflects the cutting edge of psychological research and thinking.

The findings in this book are the results of a monumental five-year study of a group of exceptionally talented teenagers, examining the role that personality traits, family interactions, education, and the social environment play in a young person''s motivation to develop his or her talent. Diagrams.

This study attempts to gain information concerning the receptive, as opposed to the creative, aesthetic experience by talking to museum professionals who spend their working lives identifying, appraising, and explicating works of art. The study is based on an underlying assumption that rules and practices for looking at art exist and must be mastered if success is to ensue. The anthropological research approach uses semi-structured interviews and subjects the responses to systematic analysis. Major conclusions emphasize the unity and diversity of the aesthetic experience. The structure of the aesthetic experience is found to be an intense involvement of attention in response to a visual stimulus, for no other reason than to sustain the interaction. The experiential consequences of such a deep and autotelic involvement are an intense enjoyment characterized by feelings of personal wholeness, a sense of discovery, and a sense of human connectedness. The aesthetic content requires two sets of preconditions that make the experience possible: the challenges contained in the object and the skills of the viewer. While the structure of the aesthetic experience is rated similar in terms by all the respondents, the challenges, or content stimuli that triggers the experience vary considerably. These challenges of art are the formal structure of the work, its emotional impact, the intellectual references it carries, and the opportunities it creates for a dialogue among the artist, his time, and the viewer. Without this content challenge there would be nothing to arrest the viewer, and consequently no experience. Level of skill is critical. Challenges and skill must be nearly in balance for the attention to become focused. A complex work of art will engage only a person who has developed complex visual skills. The book is divided into six chapters and concludes with appendices. "Interview Questions for Museum Professionals" and "Aesthetic Experience Questionnaire Form." Contains approximately 100 references. (MM)

First Published in 1990. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Der Autor untersucht das flow-Phänomen, das er zuerst beschrieben und so genannt hat, in vier völlig unterschiedlichen Bereichen menschlicher Tätigkeit: beim Schachspielen, beim Klettern im Fels, beim Rocktanzen und bei der Arbeit des Chirurgen. Auch flow-Erfahrungen im Alltagsleben werden erörtert.

An account of what is is to be a teenager in our modern world.

Filled with brilliant wisdom and insights, Beyond Boredom and Anxiety offers a timeless introduction to the concept of flow and the scientific basis behind it-all through the work of one of the field''s great scientists, Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi. Through real-life examples, discover how enjoyable activities provide a common experience-a satisfying, often exhilarating, feeling of creative accomplishment and heightened functioning-and under what conditions ''serious'' work can also provide this intrinsic enjoyment.